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back to article Brought to you by UK.gov: 'Most ambitious programme of change of any government anywhere in the world'

Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer has today unveiled the government’s long-delayed digital strategy, calling it "the most ambitious programme of change of any government anywhere in the world”. He was speaking at think-tank Reform's annual conference. The Government Transformation Strategy was intended to be launched at the …

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  1. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Devil

    Bizarrely, Gummer also described GDS head Kevin Cunnington as a "modern-day Che Guevara of digital".

    I expect May's government would be rather partial to a racist totalitarian who executed people without proof of guilt.

    Poorly defined projects with limited funds never work out well.

    11 0 Reply
    1. Bogle
      Reply Icon

      Re: "modern-day Che Guevara of digital"

      You must be thinking of another Che as Che Guevara was in the African Congo, where he led an all-black force of Cuban and Congolese soldiers against white South African mercenaries of apartheid in 1965.

      3 1 Reply
      1. PhilBuk
        Reply Icon

        Re: "modern-day Che Guevara of digital"

        Great. Now that I've got a citation to prove it, I'll just go in and re-write the Wikipedia article.

        Phil.

        1 0 Reply
  2. 2460 Something

    Why am I not surprised that once again another government strategy report is not worth the paper (be that digital or otherwise) that it is written on.

    I don't, however, understand how they can print lies without being held accountable for it. There is always an 'intern' or 'printing error' that is at fault, never the fact that they were peddling lies because that sounds better. And then they become self propagating as these 'facts' are quoted by all the agenda pushing politicians.. and of course the 'facts' must be true because the PM said it was so.

    I really wish that there was a better alternative to the bunch of self-serving lack-wits we have in power at the moment. It doesn't matter which 'party' is in power, they are all as bad, they just help out a different group of friends.

    12 0 Reply
    1. gv
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      Perhaps you should stand for election on a "drain the swamp" and "Make Britain Great Again" platform?

      8 0 Reply
      1. Alister
        Reply Icon
        Coat

        Unfortunately, we don't have "swamps" in the UK, just "marshes" and "bogs".

        Somehow "drain the bog" doesn't have quite the same ring to it...

        9 0 Reply
        1. 2460 Something
          Reply Icon

          I like it :) Although, I think a good number of the marshes and bogs are protected as they are homes for many protected species. So would have to be "Drain the Bog, and by Drain the bog I mean drain the metaphorical bog that is UK politics". Bit of a mouthful but I'm sure it can go far...

          4 0 Reply
        2. Captain Hogwash
          Reply Icon

          Flush the bog sounds like a suitable metaphor.

          10 0 Reply
      2. Dave 15
        Reply Icon

        Standing for election

        Pointless in this country

        First, the electorate are basically just to thick. The VAST majority of the people I know vote for the same parties ignoring any aspect of the behaviour of the party, the MP, the realities of their actions or the party historically most beneficial to their current circumstances. My mum voted for the local Conservative because Milibands suit didn't fit (yes, really) and a vote for anyone else was 'wasted' because they never get in.

        Second, even if you do get a substantial portion of the votes over all the two main parties and the boundary commission have stacked it against anyone breaking in (1 seat for ukip compared to the % of the vote says a huge amount). And of course this is the system that project fear mk 1 managed to persuade people to vote for.

        Frankly the country is doomed because the current bunch of self serving liars have it sewn up because the stupid idiots who could change it are too damned lazy to even think of doing so

        1 2 Reply
        1. Blotto Silver badge
          Reply Icon
          Pint

          Re: Standing for election

          @Dave

          The current bunch tried to change the boundaries but the opposition opposed.

          Everyone knows that when all things are equal the slightest blemish is the difference between success and failure. Milibland had lots not going for him. His constant annoying nasal rhetoric was one thing, his nonsense policies another, his idea to freeze energy prices just as they where falling was just idiotic especially for someone that was recently energy minister.

          If your mum didn't vote for him because of his suit, that's his fault. Despite his nonsense, a good quality fitted suit stood between him and votes. When I go for interviews I ensure my fitted suit is dry cleaned, my shoes polished my shirt crisp, my car cleaned, and I'm early to the car park but not to early to reception because I know that could be the difference between me and that other guy getting that job and I'm not running in the greatest U.K. Interview of all, to be PM.

          1 1 Reply
    2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      "I don't, however, understand how they can print lies"

      They believe them. That's the worrying thing.

      4 0 Reply
  3. druck Silver badge
    FAIL

    2027 Headline prediction

    2017 'Most ambitious programme of change of any government anywhere in the world'

    2027 'Biggest IT disaster of any government anywhere in the world'

    14 0 Reply
    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Mushroom

      Re: 2027 Headline prediction

      I wonder how letting some HMRC tax return program automatically calculate everybody's tax and raid everybody's bank accounts will work out. What could possibly go wrong?

      2 0 Reply
    2. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: 2027 Headline prediction

      Still, the Tory Government of the time (Lab will still be recovering from the Corbyn Wilderness years) will blame BREXIT for the fiasco.

      The pound will be at 2GBP to the Euro and worth $0.25USD.

      Farage will .... never mind.

      3 4 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 2027 Headline prediction

        Corbyn Wilderness years>

        Years? You really think he'll last that long?

        0 0 Reply
        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: 2027 Headline prediction

          @AC

          That sounds like Theresa May's Hobson's choice logic. ie at the next election her mantra will be you have to agree with everything I say and vote for me because no one in their right mind would vote for Corbyn.

          Mmm, yeah right. I'm looking forward to when she gets booted out when people realise that British bureaucracy isn't going to make their lives any better than the European bureaucracy, and that she will have spent billions of pounds of UK tax payers money just to stand still. Money that could have been better spent on nuclear missiles :/

          1 0 Reply
          1. Yes Me Silver badge
            Reply Icon
            Flame

            Re: 2027 Headline prediction

            "British bureaucracy isn't going to make their lives any better than the European bureaucracy."

            How dare you, sir? British Bureaucracy is the Best in the World. Better than anyone else at insisting on irrelevant details, duplicate information, pointless hoops to be jumped through repeatedly and - when on-line - at swallowing all input yet producing no output, except possibly a notice that your application for whatever it is will be dealt with in not more than seven hundred and twenty three working days. How could things possibly not be better than under the jackbooted heels of the EU?

            1 1 Reply
    3. Dave 15
      Reply Icon

      Re: 2027 Headline prediction

      And of course awarded to a FOREIGN consultancy that will offshore ALL the work to India/China/Brazil, deliver the square root of squat and pocket a fortune of BRITISH tax money in return for no jobs and no system.

      2 0 Reply
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I like some of GDS's work...

    ...I just wish they weren't such arrogant cockwombles. It doesn't help them get things done.

    2 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I like some of GDS's work...

      What makes you think they're "trying to get things done"?

      Because they say so?!? Same as politicians then.

      Actions speak louder than words. Personally, I really struggle to think of ANYTHING the civil service has done over the last 40 years that has improved my life. And I'm sure millions of others concur.

      0 0 Reply
  5. Elmer Phud

    Uber wotsit

    "On a panel afterwards, Jonathan Salter, permanent secretary at the Department for Education, called for an "Uber for supply teachers". "

    "There's a fight outside my local school"

    'Bloody kids'

    "No, it's potential supply teachers"

    The thought of it not working and going on to a Deliveroo style . . .

    3 0 Reply
    1. Dave 15
      Reply Icon

      Re: Uber wotsit

      Schools have what the deserve. Try getting a teaching job... even with a teaching qualification (science in my case)you wont get an interview because you aren't a teacher.

      2 0 Reply
  6. John G Imrie

    the most ambitious programme of change of any government anywhere in the world

    We are so fucked

    6 0 Reply
  7. cantankerous swineherd

    braindead fuckwits.

    2 0 Reply
  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I think that time frame is optimistic

    Given they won't have an IT contractors after April....

    2 0 Reply
  9. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    FAIL

    How's this for an ambitious program

    Make the s**t you already tried to develop work properly.

    Apparently UC for example cannot move payment days to the start of the month even after the first month's.

    No sorry, can't do that.

    I don't know of any employers payroll system that can't move it to synch with direct debit payments.

    Once again governments trying to BPR departments using IT to do it, and f**king it up.

    0 0 Reply

  10. This post has been deleted by its author

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The easy part

    I've had an "advanced programme of change" for decades. One day I intend doing something about it.

    2 0 Reply
  12. EnviableOne

    They got the program, now its just up to Capita, CAp Gem, CSC, BT, HPE et all to take all the money and put together something that half works some of the time that the NAO rates as red and gets canceled

    0 0 Reply

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